WASHINGTON– This week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) as a Stage One winner for the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC). InBIA will receive a $50,000 cash prize for its impactful and inclusive approach to nurturing a collaborative national innovation ecosystem to advance small business research and development (R&D) from ideas to the market.

By fostering connections between entrepreneurs, mentors, partners, philanthropies, corporations, investors, and other shared resources, GAFC 2024 catalyzes strategic ecosystem partnerships to build community and organizational capacity for the successful launch, growth, and scale of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-based entrepreneurs.

InBIA’s award-winning model will leverage existing and create new partnerships to provide entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) focused on manufacturing, sustainability and biotechnology with the tools, resources and support needed to foster inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems. Entrepreneur support professionals will engage in a community of practice to help them adapt and operationalize effective strategies of inclusive support in their sectors.

“The intent of GAFC to foster connections and create a thriving, collaborative national innovation support ecosystem aligns very well with InBIA’s mission to empower ESOs by creating impactful community,” said InBIA President & CEO, Charles Ross. “Our four decades of experience in this field and existing partnerships with other resource providers position us well to lead this effort.”

Two Stages

SBA welcomed Stage One submissions from a broad range of organizations with a collaborative vision to nurture a national ecosystem for equitable access to entrepreneurship. Winners of Stage One were selected through a multi-tier review panel process with experts in entrepreneurship, business, innovation, and strategic planning both inside and out of the federal government.

Stage Two offers an additional $50,000 to $150,000 in cash prizes for Growth Accelerator Partnerships. To learn more about Stage Two opportunities and to access the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Guidelines, please visit https://www.americasseedfund.us/accelerators

From inequity and climate change, to supporting national defense and community-driven economic prosperity, the real opportunity is now to build up innovation ecosystems and InBIA is eager to deepen its collaborative impact in domestic manufacturing and production as well as in sustainability and biotechnology.  

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About the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA)

InBIA is a global nonprofit empowering entrepreneur support organizations in every U.S. state and in over 30 countries. With nearly 40 years of experience, InBIA has been a guiding force in providing industry best practices, fostering collaboration, mentorship, and the exchange of innovative ideas for entrepreneurs worldwide. InBIA is the go-to organization for business incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, and other types of entrepreneur support organizations.